Recollections: Collected Essays

By Phyl Amadi

Phyl Amadi looks back at life growing up in Nigeria in this collection of essays that celebrates a time of simplicity when tribes lived in harmony.

But that idyllic life did not last: He also lived through the dark days of the Nigeria-Biafra civil war that broke out in 1967 and lasted until 1970. Even when it ended, life was never the same.

The fighting triggered a progression of seemingly never-ending decay in Nigerian society, which today is manifested in fraudulent and violent electoral processes, bloody religious conflicts, a corrupt public service, deteriorating infrastructure, and the pervasive false religiosity that seeks to exploit the people.

While much has changed in recent years, so much remains the samewith everyday Nigerians still struggling to come to terms with the past while coping with the complexities of the present.

These essays written from 2000 to 2005 will make you laugh, cry, and thinkbut most importantlythey suggest a way to move beyond the pain of the past and toward a brighter future.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Jan 23, 2015
• ISBN: 9781491756706

Phyl Amadi

Phyl Amadi was born in Santa Isabel, Equatorial Guinea, a small island off the coast of West Africa. He graduated from the University of Ibadan in southwestern Nigeria before completing graduate studies at Indiana University in 1981, and a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Paris VI, Orsay, France.

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2000

Let there be Light

The Nigerian Electric Power Authority (NEPA) is often code-named Never Expect Power Always by its critics. NEPA has problems; its problems are invariably laced with the same affliction that constitutes the problems with Nigeria. While the country is still breathing, the jury is out assessing whether NEPA is dead or in coma; the experts are trying to determine whether or not NEPA could be revived by cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) alone or shock from an automated external defibrillator (AED). Regardless of the state of affairs there must be reasons why God created light and called it day; then created night and called it NEPA; to understand the reasons, it might be necessary to review some fundamentals of the electric power supply industry as it applies to Nigeria. Taking the lead from this discussion is not an attempt to play on anybody’s intelligence; however, it has become necessary to provide an overview and background to the inner workings of the electric power generating system; doing so also has the chance to assist Nigerians understand NEPA’s real or imagined difficulties in sustaining its operations and services.

The electric power system involves three key processes, generation, transmission, and distribution. The generating stations produce electricity through various applications. Heat generated by burning fossil fuels (oil, gas and coal) or through nuclear materials, is used to boil water to produce steam. The steam is directed through a turbine causing the turbine-blades to rotate at a very high speed. In the case of hydropower like the type found at Kainji or Shiroro in Nigeria, the force of cascading water and not steam turns the turbine blades. The turbine also incorporates a magnet that spins along with the blades. The concurrent turning and spinning of both the turbine-blades and the magnet at high speed transform the mechanical and magnetic force produced into an electrical energy. The next step involves the transportation of the electrical energy from where it is produced to the end-users located several miles away from the power source. The process is similar to the flow of a river from its headwaters downstream on its way to a reservoir. As water flows from a higher elevation to a lower level, the same natural law obtains as in this case. Electricity travels through transmission lines (wires) subjected to head differences (potential differences) called voltage; the flow of current is from a higher voltage to a lower one. Thus, the generating stations possess higher voltages to facilitate the transfer and flow of current to lower energy levels. The transmission lines end up at strategic locations called Receiving Stations. The Receiving Stations are in turn connected to Distribution Sub-Stations for the purpose of distributing power to consumers. Generally the sub-stations service a designated area depending on the population and other related factors. The Sub-Stations further split power into circuits and each circuit is dedicated to a power customer service area. In newer developments as would be expected in a place like Nigeria’s capital city Abuja, the neighborhood circuits would be underground but in older developments like Lagos, such circuits are located overhead. Underground circuits utilize transformers mounted on concrete pads at ground level; however, overhead circuits have their transformers mounted on poles.

These transformers cause voltage reduction to accommodate home appliances and safe consumer utility and application. The typical household appliance in Nigeria is designed to accommodate about 220 volts of power. The voltage profile varies from country to country. Nigeria maintains the British system; other voltage reduction devices are also utilized to assist both commercial and industrial consumers.

Now that we have gone through this short course in power generation, transmission and distribution, let us relate the entire concept to Nigeria; doing so invariably helps understand the nature of the problems facing NEPA and its ability to provide sustainable services to Nigerians. In his presentation at a recent business forum in Lagos, Nigeria, NEPA’s southwest regional manager gave an overview of the country’s power generating capacity. According to Mr. Patrick, Nigeria has eight generating facilities. The three hydropower and five thermal or gas powered stations are located in various parts of the country. The hydro-stations are Kainji (760 megawatts), Jebba (540 megawatts) and Shiroro (600 megawatts). The thermal or fuel powered stations include Afam (969 megawatts), Ugheli (376 megawatts), Egbin (320 megawatts), Ijora (60 megawatts), and Sapele (720 megawatts). There are other facilities located in Jos (formerly associated with the tin mining operations) and the Oji River facility (similarly associated with the coal mining activities in the recent past around Ekulu, Enugu). Private sector power generation includes sources from the oil companies, the breweries, the cement factories and the steel plants all over the country. In general consideration therefore, Nigeria could easily attain a power generating capacity of 7000 to 8000 megawatts and demand is hardly near 50 percent. According to Engineer Patrick, the news is not quite good on the general operational conditions and status of these stations. Everything that could go wrong has already gone wrong; the Afam station is currently off-line, having sustained an explosion a couple of years ago. Both the Ugheli and Sapele stations have technical and operational problems and therefore are running below capacity. Most of the component units of the Egbin station are out of service and therefore operating below normal load capacity. Apart from site-specific technical problems, the hydro-stations rely on the water levels at the various dams along the Niger River. The total output of electricity in Nigeria from these facilities is said to be below 30 percent of total capacity production. That situation existed before the civilian administration took office on May 29, 1999 and has seemingly remained unchanged.

Since there is not much electric power capacity to share, it is perhaps unnecessary to dwell on how NEPA transmits and distributes electricity throughout Nigeria. The closest to reality is by tossing the coin to determine which part of the country would have electricity, when and for how long. Recently, the oracle that hitherto controlled the operation of NEPA packed up; the country’s president was forced to apologize to the people on television; he fired the board of directors and appointed a new body to chart a new course for NEPA; the challenges facing the new board of directors are many; to help advance the process of fixing some of those problems, the following suggestions are provided:

Sub-divide the country into 3 main Electric Power Generation and Output (EPGO) areas using the Niger-Benue River as the natural divide. The northern sector (EPGO 1) will cover Nigeria north of the confluence; the western sector (EPGO 2) will cover areas west of the Niger and the eastern sector (EPGO 3) will cover areas east of the Niger including the Delta. EPGO 1 will be responsible for power generation engineering and facility maintenance of all the hydropower stations at Kainji, Jebba and Shiroro. EPGO 2 will be responsible for power generation engineering and facility maintenance of Egbin and Ijora. EPGO 3 will be responsible for power generation engineering and facility maintenance of Sapele, Ugheli and Afam. Each EPGO will be an independent power generating authority empowered and mandated to feed the national grid. The government should go into partnership with organized private sector to operate and maintain the generating stations. In return, government secures percentage of power generated, leaving the rest as an incentive to the participating partners or organization(s). Each EPGO under private sector management will provide wholesale energy to the Nigerian Government, in addition to serving all industrial and commercial centers within its area of operation.

The next important step is to identify Nigeria’s primary electric power customers; making such a determination will help to package electric power resale as soon as it leaves the generating stations. The case of those Nigerians living in the villages and rural communities further away from the national grid requires a special attention. Obviously, rural electrification has its problems; however, should it be regarded as part of social contract? If so, how does the new board of directors plan to supply electricity to the villages and who pays for it? Should power supply be part of government’s welfare support service to the people? If not, should a government subsidy suffice? How would the villagers pay their bills and who collects such bills? Answers to these rhetorical questions not only create basis for an effective and efficient power supply and control at the grass-root level, they also provide an indirect assessment of the extent and degree of Nigeria’s poverty load. Any plans for poverty alleviation has to address the power supply needs of the rural population and how best to meet them.

Surely, the government has an important role to play; that role begins by figuring out how to allocate its share of wholesale electric power package deriving from each EPGO towards sustaining rural power supply. In this plan, the villagers would not be expected to pay electric bills; it would also be a very bad idea to chase them down the trails and farmlands to collect stranded revenues. Instead, government could set up the necessary administrative mechanism through the wards and local governments for the purpose of establishing Local Area Network (LAN) to manage power supply and distribution. In that instance, power supply becomes free, and ultimately an entitlement for the rural population. In the urban areas where rural population is mixed up with city and urban dwellers, electric power marketers and the local governments have to address location and area-specific connectivity issues. The urban areas could be zoned based on income, demography and access. In this regard, the federal and state governments have to subsidize resale package through the power marketers to ensure that electric bills are affordable to the low income. Those rich Nigerians who choose to build very big houses and live in areas zoned for the poor and low income have to be considered as special customers. They would not qualify for subsidies; however, they would be assisted with a special retail plan directly from the power supply distribution company operating within the designated service area using some remote access metering devices.

While each EPGO has its service area, power utilization and customer need would in part determine the location of the Receiving and Distribution centers; such centers are usually created for sustainability and efficiency in addition to provide maximum operational and logistical support. Since government secures its share of electricity supply directly from the EPGO, the rest of the power output in the national grid would be available for sale. Revenue accrues to government through tax collection; the organized private sector would be expected to open up the energy industry to create quality jobs for Nigerians. The management of the Receiving and Distribution Centers has to be subscribed to in the open market; that way Power Distribution and Marketing Companies would have the necessary incentive to seek out their customers and arrange how to reach them to serve them. If properly positioned, there is no reason why the electric power industry and associated ancillary services should not create and sustain about half a million new jobs all over Nigeria within a couple of years. In addition, the industry should have the capacity to support energy research in major Nigerian Universities and Technical Institutions.

With proper organization and good planning, the Nigerian government should have no business getting involved in electric power generation, transmission and distribution business. Its role should be to create the enabling environment towards protecting the poor, the needy and the low income while at the same time protecting free enterprise, sustainability and private sector participation in the power industry. There are many reasons why the government should and must get itself out of NEPA. The kind and type of manpower support needed to operate and maintain a national power supply system (24 hours a day, 7 days a week), would never be available at the civil service level; the cadre of workforce is not the caliber and quality the President or the Minister of Power can attract and keep under a NEPA payroll. In fact most of the expertise and technical support required for an effective and efficient electric power industry is currently not available in Nigeria at the moment. Secondly, the government cannot operate this type of industry as a welfare support service to all in every sector of the economy. Thirdly, opening up the job market for youth employment cannot continue to anchor itself on the Public Service Commission. The Electric Power sector is viable and job-creating; however, Nigeria has to develop the correct policy and organizational blue print to take advantage of all the opportunities presented. The break-up of NEPA into three zones would not necessarily resolve budgetary shortfalls and financial mismanagement responsible in part for poor maintenance and delays in equipment replacement. However, the decentralization of NEPA into private sector holdings is likely to create an attractive investment opportunity for third party interests from outside Nigeria. Adequate funding, technical and managerial expertise deriving from such interests will help sustain electricity output and utilization in the country.

Nigeria is among the world’s major oil producers; the country cannot continue to project a world-class investment climate, inviting multi-nationals from all over the world while the economic and financial engine remains clogged up. NEPA is not just about electric power supply; it is essentially the key to the survival of One Nigeria.

Friday March 24, 2000

The Basement Complex

I must have had a bad dream the previous night; otherwise how would I explain the reasons for waking up thinking about Buba Bello Kare Garke Jangebe. I do not know him from Adam. I have never been to Zamfara, northwestern Nigeria. I know that my dear Buba was forcefully amputated for stealing a goat; the man lost a limb, and I am seriously scared. It has finally happened. Sharia Law has ultimately been consummated in the north country of Nigeria, and the rest is history.

I also read the beautiful piece by that friend from Nnobi. I recognized that one because I have been to Nnobi before; it is a town in Anambra State Nigeria. Many of my high school mates are from there. Ruddy wrote about someone else that also lost a limb; he described the case of a professor’s uncle who was amputated by the doctors at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu, Eastern Nigeria. Ruddy was not quite sure the type of surgical instrument used. Coincidentally, Buba’s operation took place on the grounds of Zamfara State Hospital; outsiders are not sure whether Buba’s arm came off of a chain saw or an axe; however, after reading Ruddy’s article Tonye suggested an axe might have been used in the ‘chopping’. Who cares about anesthesia, ice or blood transfusion, what difference would it make? Upon closer examination, the professor in question found out after the fact, his uncle could have been saved that ugly and painful experience. Unfortunately, Buba has lost his arm; he does not have the luxury of a wheelchair unlike the professor’s uncle; however, both men have lost one limb each and so has Nigeria. The scenarios are definitely different only in the circumstances but the big picture is that a country that allows the limbs of its citizens to be chopped off for any reason, be it lack of medical facilities or the vagaries of Sharia Law, does not deserve a second chance for a repeat performance.

I actually planned to write about the new craze in town called Poverty Alleviation. I am not quite sure it would be convenient to delve into that monster at the moment, since my mind has become heavy following the dream about Buba. I shall reserve the opportunity for next time and instead recount a story told by my father long ago.

Once upon a time in the animal kingdom, invaders came and drove the animals underground through a tunnel. Down hole was like a concentration camp of all-comers; all the animals from north, south, east and west were there. They spoke different languages and professed different faith and creed. Before chasing them downstairs, the invaders reminded the animals of their group identity, with the promise that only those who learn to speak the foreign language of the invaders would be allowed to climb through the shaft to settle above ground. Among the down-hole dwellers were people who had served the invaders in various capacities when everybody lived aboveground. Some of them had picked up the language of the former masters and eventually had the opportunity to teach their kith and kin bottom dwellers. A particular group remained content in its plight, unwilling and unprepared to challenge its fate. Those who were willing to learn this foreign language soon became inquisitive and ready to demand and defend their civil rights, challenging the invaders’ bunker government. Having become proficient with the language, it was time to venture through the tunnel and attempt an escape.

Unfortunately, planning such an escape would not be an easy undertaking; the invaders are waiting above ground each person carrying a big log of wood (imagine baseball bats). No bottom dweller dares show up head or feet first. Every effort must be made to keep them buried, language proficient or not. The rules of engagement of course changed soon after the invaders secured the ground surface. Below ground, fighting has broken out. The language-proficient rabbles are being prevented from climbing the tunnel on their way to freedom. We are in this thing together and nobody must leave suddenly became the slogan for the indolent. A chief who was once a tax collector in his former life with the invaders, decided to appeal to the conscience of all and sundry. His plan was that those determined to climb out of the tunnel must first take a pledge and agree to a strategy; those who succeed in climbing above-ground, must not abandon those left behind in the basement, they must make all efforts to bring everybody out. His appeal fell on deaf ears; those seemingly satisfied with the state of affairs in the underground were ready to hold everyone else hostage. This group insisted that everybody must remain underground until and unless the invaders opened the tunnel to let all the people out. The rumbling continued and the invaders could hear the commotion going on below from the top; they laughed and made fun of those people down stairs.

Here is a situation where those plotting an escape must fight with their own before getting the chance to confront a common enemy waiting above-ground. Thus, the self-styled freedom fighters found themselves hated by follow bottom dwellers but loathed by those lying in wait above-ground ready to kill. The old man described the situation in the Common Hole, and called it the Basement Complex.

Most Nigerians seem to be buried deep in the same type of bottom-hole dungeon; there is no workable plan or consensus on how to loosen the shackles for an escape into freedom towards redeeming the promise of One Nigeria. Unfortunately that promise seems to mean different things to different categories of people. Category One belongs to the group of people interested in preserving and protecting democracy as currently designed under a centralized federal government; incidentally that arrangement requires the office of the president to be zoned and rotated between north and south political subdivisions; unfortunately such a plan resides only within the major political parties; it does not have any constitutional provision or mandate. Category Two is insisting on holding what the group is calling Sovereign National Conference (SNC) to discuss and perhaps redefine the terms and conditions for continuing the association of all the constituencies that make up One Nigeria. This group does not seem to be organized on a common purpose; there is no clear alternative should the national conference not hold as being advocated. In the event Nigeria is not restructured, it is hard to know other options available to this group. Category Three would like to avoid the SNC in favor of amending the 1999 constitution bequeathed to Nigeria by the military; this group insists such an amendment must be accomplished through legislative formalities at the National Assembly.

Categories One and Three seem to share some common goals; however, it is difficult to determine when the groups mean what they say or when they say what they mean. Both of them are currently holding political power, but still busy trying to out-maneuver each other; collectively they try very hard to convince the rest of Nigerians they are the new breed of politicians to be trusted. They are asking Nigerians not to be afraid of testing their new formula dog food. The ruling party and its leadership are members; unfortunately their poor stewardship in office is making it very hard for the rest of the people to believe or trust them. Category Four prefers the return of the generals; the military would get the chance to rule the country again as it did the previous 20 years. Unfortunately, the sudden death of the head of the junta in 1999 put the fear God in the men in uniform. The Nigerian military stayed too long to became corrupt and lazy and was ultimately distracted by an unrestricted civilian life-style outside the barracks; consequently it became lethargic and hardly able to fulfill its primary function, protecting the territorial integrity of One Nigeria; in the process, the junta lost the respect of the civilians and to some extent its prestige and fire-power; the Niger Delta militia in the south, as well as the Wahhabi Islamic fundamentalists operating in the northern part of the country became emboldened by the perceived weakness of the military; they seized the opportunity to organize themselves into a resistance force, causing civil strife, pain and suffering including death to innocent others; for the advocates, the return of the military elicits hidden fear and trepidation knowing the next military coup runs the risk of changing not only the map but also the flag of Nigeria.

Category Five is no longer paying serious attention because it has lost faith and trust in government, any government; members of this group have become frustrated and desperate; they would prefer to escape and leave the country; they are prepared to sleep on the street in any foreign land, in desperation; they are prepared to take their chances with endurance and survival against all the odds known and unknown. They are convinced the country Nigeria as presently disposed, no longer holds much hope or opportunities for them; they have been betrayed with empty promises by those once trusted to protect their interest. They believe nobody is looking out for them; they would therefore trade their plight in Nigeria with life elsewhere and somewhere outside Nigeria. Unfortunately for this group, survival is not guaranteed anywhere and certainly not in other countries of Africa. One frustration is being the victim of Nigeria’s inadequacies in the midst of plenty; another is looking beyond the place that first abandoned its own before exposing them to humiliation and abuse by strangers.

Obviously, One Nigeria has become this huge elephant. The people stand in different places but are able to see only parts of the animal. It is however, possible to train this elephant for the circus to give Nigerians the opportunity to appreciate what they see to behold its size; those who do not want the education of this elephant may also be afraid the animal might escape into freedom; collectively they suffer from the same disease acquired from the Common